Thread: Newbie Looking for Strop Shop

Hey everybody,

I'm looking around to buy my first strop. I want to spend as little as possible but I also want to buy one that will last a long time and provide lots of high quality stropping. I've been advised that I might want an Illinois 827. I have found these online (including some other Illinois numbered strops such as 127, etc.) but don't know anything about reputable websites for strops, razors, etc. I looked on whipped dog as well but only found the "poor man's strop" which is indeed cheap, but doesn't look like it will provide the kind of long term high quality performance I'm looking for. Also, it looks like some strops have canvas while others do not. Do I want this or not? Is there a particular size that I should be looking out for or are size differences only a matter of individual preference? So many choices!

It's really all a matter of preference and what you want to pay. I recently purchased a latigo strop from SRD and love it..I could se having it a long time...doesn't mean I wont purchase another just to try something different...darn AD...lol. It really depends on what type of draw you want, the aesthetics of it, etc. Its all preferance. For the second strop material I prefer either a cotton or linen..it's old school and I prefer it. The second strop is used before leather...most people do something like 30 strokes linen 60 leather. I hope this helps. The other thing is though is that if its your first and you've never stropped before..youre gonna nick it..we all have..so better to have a decent starter strop to get comfortable with than ruining an expensive one.

My first strop was an Illinois and I regretted it. It came so heavily waxed as to have no draw, it was cupped so bad it took a few hours of conditioning to correct, and has never been as flat as I would have liked.

Do yourself a favor, and get a strop from a company that sells truly shave ready razors. SRD, Classicshaving, something like that. Ruprazor or Tony Miller makes some nice strops as well, even though they don't make straight razors.

+1 to it being a matter of preference. I will say this….Don’t go cheap just because it’s cheap. Shop around and see what you like. Something to carefully consider is your strop will be something that will be with you for a long time to come.

I don’t think you’ll be sorry if you go with a 3”. My first strop was a 2-1/2” Illinois and though I was happy with it until I ordered the 3” Red Latigo from Straight Razor Designs (SRD). It’s a beautiful strop with which they use good hardware and heavy, good quality leather. I particularly like the handles they put on it. There are a lot of strops for a much higher price that don’t even have handles and the end of it is only squared off. Another nice thing about the Latigo is if you should accidentally cut it, you can order a replacement piece of leather or fabric/linen. I don’t think we are suppose to mention prices so, just go to their website and check them out.

The fabric or linen is also a matter preference. I ordered my Latigo about a year ago with the fabric but I’m thinking about replacing it with linen. I guess I just like going with what’s traditional.

Well, good luck and I hope this helps you in your decision. Please let us know what you decide on.

thanks for the link to straight razor designs - the funny thing is everyone's been talking about "SRD" and I haven't been able to figure it out until right now. much clearer!

My first strop was an Illinois and I regretted it

Interesting. My first strop was an Illinois 206, and it works fine. Even with all the nicks I put into it.<g>

Don't short-change the Poor Man's Strop Kit. The leather is OK (IMHO), and the pasted balsa strop works nicely. It'll keep a razor sharp.

With hindsight, I would have bought the PMSK _first_, and made my mistakes on it, rather than the more-expensive Illinois.

Charles
Charles

Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

With hindsight, I would have bought the PMSK _first_, and made my mistakes on it, rather than the more-expensive Illinois.

Thats one of my main concerns right now. I could (and kind of want to) buy something nice, but am also kind of wondering if I wouldn't just ruin it at this stage...

Considering my skill (or lack of) I'm thinking about either the PMSK or the "filly" on Ruprazor. Either would be fine for me I suppose till later.

also - I can't for the life of me figure out the different Illinois numbers... they don't seem to be about sizes or fabric as far as I can tell???

I think you want canvas as when used properly it prolongs the time between touch ups a lot.

The advantage of a strop from SRD is that you can replace the leather only in a year or two. In practice the usual nicks are usually a cosmetic issue.

My favorite illinois is a vintage 361, but as far as I know they don't make them out of horse anymore, they are all cowhide. And yes the numbers denote width/length/leather type, but I don't really know them all. I think if you dig back in the old threads from few years ago Tony Miller has at least one post where he lists a bunch of illinois numbers with the corresponding properties.

Thinking about getting this one:

Illinois Razor Strop 2" x 20" Top Grain Cowhide with Handle - Knifecenter.com

Seems like a good price - has anyone bought anything from this site before? Are they legitimate?